$365k on the Line: A Massive Weekend of Ironman Racing Across Three Continents
A major weekend of racing sees $365k in prize money, Pro Series points, and qualification slots up for grabs across three continents.
Ironman
It’s one of the biggest weekends of the season for long-course racing, with $365,000 USD in prize money on offer across three Ironman events, alongside Kona qualification and Ironman 70.3 World Championship slots.
From North America to Africa to Europe, here’s how it breaks down.
Ironman Texas (Saturday April 18): The headline event of the weekend, Ironman Texas carries a $175,000 USD prize purse and offers a significant 5,000 points toward the Ironman Pro Series standings.
For defending Pro Series champion Kat Matthews, the race presents an opportunity to maintain a perfect start to the 2026 season, following wins in New Zealand and Geelong. On the men’s side, Kristian Blummenfelt emphasized during the pro panel that this is one of his most important races in the context of the Pro Series. Despite victories at both Geelong and Oceanside 70.3, the greater weighting of full-distance events makes Texas critical, with a full 5,000-points core his clear objective after a sixth-place finish in New Zealand that fell short of expectations.
Here’s the start list set for Texas. In addition to Pro Series points, the race also offers 12 qualifying slots to the Ironman World Championship in Kona (six per gender).
Ironman South Africa (Sunday April 19): On Sunday, attention will shift to Ironman South Africa, which offers a $150,000 USD prize purse and eight Kona qualifying slots (four per gender).
While not part of the Ironman Pro Series, the race remains one of the most important regional qualifiers on the calendar. A key storyline will be the matchup between Jamie Riddle and Matthew Marquardt – see our full race preview here.
Ironman 70.3 Valencia (Sunday April 19): Rounding out the weekend is Ironman 70.3 Valencia, offering a $40,000 USD prize purse and four qualifying slots (two per gender) to the Ironman 70.3 World Championship in Nice. This race is not part of the Ironman Pro Series.
How to Watch
Ironman Texas, as a Pro Series event, will be broadcast live, with the professional race kicking off at 6:25am local time (7:25am EST, 4:25am PST). Coverage will be available on Outside TV, the Ironman Pro Series website, and YouTube.